I was a coward by nature, timid as a quail.
Mother taught me the secret to making a living when you were poor— Do whatever people ask.
I never forgot.
At fourteen, my sister-in-law sold me to a brothel.
As she was leaving, she wiped away her tears.
“Xiaoqiao, I truly can’t bear to part with you.”
So I begged the madam to take her in too.
At seventeen, one of the girls stole my money to run away with a man.
When I caught her, she sobbed, “Xiaoqiao, cut off my hand!”
That night, blood covered the floor.
At twenty, I had saved enough to buy my freedom.
I gave every last coin to Lü Buyu.
We had been lovers for six months, and he had promised to take me away.
Instead, he used the money to redeem Qingyue, who had only just arrived.
He knelt before me.
“Xiaoqiao, she’s so pitiful.
I can’t watch her sink into this mire.”
“Or you could just kill me.”
